The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Wednesday said it was in the process of working with the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) to conduct a Challenge Grant for cyber security to encourage budding start-ups develop innovative technologies.
Speaking at an event here, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said innovation in cyber security was a big focus area of the government.
He said there were more than 100 cyber security product companies in India and preference shall be given by all entities in the government to procure domestically manufactured/ produced cyber security products.
Prasad also inaugurated the first ever Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team (APCERT) Open Conference in India and the first in South Asia, which was held here on Wednesday. India was also selected to be part of the steering committee of APCERT along with six (Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan) other countries to shape the agenda for the next two years across the region.
At the event, Prasad also announced that under the programme of supporting PhD scholars in digital technologies, the government would offer scholarships in cyber security to candidates from Asia Pacific, who do their PhD in any of the 100 leading universities of India, including IITs, IISc and other universities.
He invited research scholars to explore research options in India.